Also, my camera and this library don’t get along very well. You’ll have to wait to see my awesome pictures...possibly quite a while. I have a lot though, so get excited.
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Telluride, part II:
The theme of the day was rain. All day, and all night. I ended up walking around the town in about 15 layers of clothing and avoiding the campsite like the plague. I ate at an awesome organic Mexican restaurant and grabbed some ice cream before dragging myself back to camp.
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Day 49:
Off I go again. I had Monticello, Utah as my goal, but that would have been a sold 130 miles of riding. My morning started off with Lizard Head Pass, a tedious climb up to around 10,200 feet. The upside was that I had a huge gradual 50 mile downhill to Dolores, CO. The town is on an awkward divide between mountains and desert, so I ate lunch and kissed the beautiful San Juan mountain range goodbye.
I asked three different people what the ride was like to Monticello and I got three different answers: Flat, slight uphill grade, or rolling hills.
Rolling hills for the win.
The ride was like a tame version of the Ozarks, and by the time I hit Dove Creek, CO at mile 100, I was starving and ready for bed. I asked around town about camping possibilities, and landed in the city park. Pavilions, grills, and water…not a bad setup. Plus there was a 24 hour gas station down the road. I cooked up dinner, strung the hammock, and settled down for the night.
Cue the incessant, incredibly annoying, and moderately terrifying barking dog. From 12:30 until I finally fell back asleep at 3:30, I lay exhausted and frustrated, listening to the irritating barking dog, which also sounded like it was all of 10 feet away from me. I woke up with the sun, and left Dove Creek and its crazy dogs behind.
Miles Covered: 100
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Day 50:
Utah, here I come! Way back in the day I looked at an elevation profile of the ride from Monticello, Utah to Moab. It seemed as though I would be climbing over 3,000 feet over about 55 miles. When I got to Monticello and asked the locals about the ride though, turns out I had it in reverse. Looks like this would be an easy day after all...
Coolest state sign so far:
Over the course of my 55 mile decent, I saw some beautiful sandstone scenery, rode through canyons, and met a ranger from Canyonlands National Park who was biking into Moab. This actually turned out to be much more significant than I originally thought...stay tuned.
Anyway, her name was Kendra and she was on a three day break from work. We talked for a little bit at a rest area, and then she kicked my butt on an uphill and left me behind.
When I finally entered Moab, I thought I was in heaven. I rode down the main stretch and stopped in every bike shop and outdoor store. There were five bike shops and probably twice as many outfitter stores…no joke. I was on a mission though. I needed to find about the White Rim Road. A quick back story:
The White Rim is a 100 mile quasi-technical dirt road that circles the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands. It’s famous, and I wanted to bike it. Unfortunately, the word on the street was that the final 10 miles were flooded out and impassable. Since the only two ways on and off the road are the start and finish, this could certainly pose a problem….so I went searching for the truth.
Although I got a mixed bag of responses, I was directed to the Poison Spider bike shop, where a guy named Cullon was working. After meeting him, I soon realized that he is awesome, crazy, incredibly knowledgeable, and the expert on all things related to biking. We talked for a long time, and he basically planned out my entire trip. He even gave me a pair of slightly used mountain bike tires that I could use on the bike. Everyone else at the shop was incredibly nice too, and basically let me live out of their shed. They helped met in everyway they could, and I couldn’t have asked for a nicer bunch of people to run in to.
Getting late, Matt from the shop offered to let me stay at his house for the night. We rode out, got some food from the grocery store, and I cooked up a bangin’ meal for the both of us. Oh, and I finally did it – I ate an entire half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. It was awesome.
Miles Covered: 70
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Day 51:
My first trip in the morning was to Arches National Park. I stopped by the bike shop, dropped off my trailer, and took off. It was an awesome 50 mile ride total, and I got to see all three sections of the park.
One funny thing that I noted was the contrast between talking to locals about biking versus people who actually bike. For instance, had I asked a local about the Arches ride, they would have said something along the lines of…
“YOU’RE RIDING YOUR BIKE THOUGH ARCHES?!? ARE YOU CRAZY?!?”
Whereas everyone at the bike shop said:
“It’s a really beautiful ride; I do it all the time”
And it was a beautiful ride, but there was also a ton of climbing. Like the 1,000 foot climb up the canyon on switchbacks just to get into the park. Perfectly doable, but I found the contrast in opinions to be quite humorous.
Scenes from the park:
And the two famous arches, landscape and delicate:
With Arches conquered, I focused my energy on planning for the White Rim. Now mind you, this is no small task. Here’s an abbreviated list of the dangers of it:
1. It’s a 100 miles loop with no services
2. There’s no water available
3. It’s completely isolated
4. It’s the desert
5. It’s a dirt road
6. You basically descend straight down a canyon wall and have to climb out the other end (dubbed “The Cliffs of Mordor” by Beth at the bike shop)
7. The end may or may not be flooded
8. Only crazy people ride it in the summer…which means no one actually rides it in the summer
9. Did I mention it’s a desert?
To further complicate things, I needed to get a backcountry permit to camp on the trail. It turns out that the only way to get one is to stop at the visitor’s center, which was not quite on my way. Scared for my health, safety, and legality of the ride, I began second-guessing doing it at all.
With my bike ready to go, I began riding up to the grocery store for pick up my final provisions before riding out to the trail. Taking my time and getting quite nervous, I heard my name begin called from across the road. Kendra (the ranger) spotted me from afar, and began riding towards me. She invited me to dinner, and I picked her brain about the ride.
This was the luckiest and most awesome thing that ever happened to me…plus she paid for my dinner.
She re-planned my route so I could hit the visitor’s center right in the morning, and gave me as much information as she had about the flooding. After dinner we parted ways, and I hit the grocery store more optimistic than ever.
At 8:00 I departed Moab, and started off for Canyonlands. Here was the (new) plan:
1. Ride 30 miles up to the outskirts of the park, and camp for the night
2. Hit the visitor’s center in the morning, get the permit, and ask about the flooding
3. Either travel clockwise and risk hitting an impassable flood at the end, or go counter-clockwise and hit the flooding first. No sweat.
The ride out to the campsite was incredible. I was on a deserted road in the pitch black, starring at a breath-taking star-lit desert sky. The ride wasn’t easy though...in fact, it was all uphill. And I was lugging 3.5 gallons of water. There were also a few times when a car would be descending out of the park, which would be quite daunting since all I could see was there headlights traversing switchbacks in the distance. I think it was probably the coolest was to do the ride though.
I finally arrived at the campsite at 11:00, downed some food, and passed out. Tomorrow the fun begins.
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Day 52:
I got to the visitor’s center just as it opened. Not quite knowing what to expect out on the White Rim, I wanted as much time as I could have. I picked up the permit, but they were unfortunately less-than knowledgeable about the flooding. I left my phone number with a ranger though, so if anyone who knew more about it showed up, they could call me. At 9:00 on the dot I descended into the canyon going clockwise, willing to risk hitting the flooding at the end.
For the next 40 miles, I rode along an incredible dirt trail surround by some of the most amazing sights I’ve ever seen. There were huge canyons, towering cliffs, and expansive vistas stretching for miles in every direction. Every turn brought something even more awesome, and I just cruised along soaking it all in.
I was incredibly grateful for the mountain bike, the knobby tires, and the shock on the trailer. The trail would have demolished anything less than my setup. It was amazing riding, and a much needed break from the road.
I got to the campground fairly early, and checked my phone. Thankfully I had a message from a ranger, which went something like this:
“Do not try and get through the flooding. There is a standing lake on the road, and one of the sidewalls collapsed into the road. It’s very muddy and currently infested with mosquitoes. The road is closed to all vehicle traffic, and violating the closure will result in a fine.”
Good. Looks like I won’t be going that way...
Plan #2:
1. Camp at Whitecliff campground, right in the middle of the trail (what the ranger said was their most popular and most beautiful campground)
2. Retrace my path in the morning
3. Take Podash Road out of the park, an alternative exit back to Moab
Taking a cue from the Tennessee Briar Patch Incident, this seemed like the smartest alternative.
I had to descend down to this road:
Via these switchbacks...
Check out the scenery:
Camping in the desert requires a little improvisation:
And feast your eyes on these views from the camp:
My night’s sleep at the campground was amazing. I had a 360 degree view of endless canyons and cliffs, extending for miles and miles. The night sky was absolutely amazing, and I could see more stars than I ever though existed. I watched an incredible sunset, and woke up to the sun lighting up mountains and canyons as it rose in the distance. I was in the middle of nowhere, and I didn’t want to be anywhere else. It was incredible.
Sunset:
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Day 53:
In the morning I took off, retracing my path. What I didn’t expect was that it was just incredible going the other way...like the canyons and cliffs were replaced over night. It seemed I had a completely new array of scenery in front of me.
About five miles from the exit I ran into Kevin, a guide working with a company called Navtec in Moab. He had a crew of people out on the rim trail, and was eventually taking them rafting. He gave me some ice water and invited me over for a beer once I got back to town. Now that’s something to look forward to.
I hit Podash Road and started the long trek back to town. The road was not quite what I expected…even more technical riding than the White Rim Trail, and at some points even more scenic. It followed the Colorado River through curving canyons and towering cliffs, which made for some really incredible scenery.
About 18 miles in the road turned to pavement and I was able to fly the remaining 20 miles back to Moab. Of course I hit a huge patch of dirt, fell over, and bent my derailleur hanger about a half mile from the exit though. Good thing I’m living out of a bike shop…
The scariest thing about the ride was definitely water. I could have had 10 gallons with me and it still wouldn’t have been enough. I got back to town drinking my last drop, and was still considerably dehydrated. I got to the bike shop and caught up with everyone. I took the greatest shower of my life, washing off about 50 nasty layers of dirt, sunscreen, bug spray, and sweat. Then I headed to the Moab Brewery for a drink and some tasty celebratory food.
I eventually made it over to Navtec, where I caught up with Kevin and some other people he worked with. We hung out on the deck for a few hours, and then headed over to a bar at night to watch Kevin play in a band. It was a really fun night, and they even let me sleep out on the deck once we got back.
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Day 54:
Unfortunately today was the day I was leaving Moab. I got to the bike shop to have my bike tuned up, and started collecting my belongings. I got about $40 worth of labor done for free, and said goodbye to everyone that helped me along for the past few days.
I hit the grocery store to pick up a few last minute things, and then plotted my escape back to Monticello. Remember how I descended 3,000 feet to get to Moab? Yeah...
So I headed to a gas station on the edge of town, and within 15 minutes I was in the bed of a pickup truck headed south. Did I mention that Moab is awesome?
The express route:
Once I got to Monticello, I rode into a campground right in town. Exhausted, all I wanted to do was sleep. Of course, sometimes life throws you a curve ball. I rode past a site where two guys were sitting outside. As soon as they saw me, they offered me a beer…and of course I couldn’t refuse that.
That commenced a night of drinking, laughing, relaxing, and storytelling. Abe and John were two of the coolest people I’ve met so far, and literally treated me like they knew me forever. They bought me dinner, showed me around town, and gave me a bed to sleep in. It was pretty late by the time we got to bed, but I was happy to have met such awesome people.
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Day 55:
Back on the road, I made it south to Blanding today. There’s quite a bit more to travel before I hit the campsite, so I best get moving. I also hear that there’s not much of anything for the next 200 miles, so it should be an interesting ride. Good thing I’m carrying about 1,000 pounds of water...
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